From
time immemorial movies have served as an extra value pack to general entertainment
channels. While fiction remained the staple diet for the lot, movies dished up
the programming lineup, especially on weekends, as an eagerly awaited dessert.
The design was to attract additional viewership that went beyond the
traditional eyeballs (target group), evidently flocking onto the respective channels
to prey on their regular dose of fiction.
While the trend continues even
today, freshness and contribution from movies as a genre towards the Hindi GEC
is significantly scaling up more effectively. Channels are pursuing hard to pocket
big ticket movies and persistently locking in air-time for them within the smallest
time-gap from their theatrical release. This means, for some, accessibility on
TV could be just four weeks after the theatrical release while for a few the availability
would be six-seven months post hitting the plexes.
 Take
for instance the Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starrer Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.
Colors premiered the movie in December 2009, just a month after its theatrical
release. The movie garnered a 7.45 TVR (C&S 4+, HSM), contributing 50.2 GRPs
to the channel. On the other hand, Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots was on Sony
seven months after its release and was a table turner for the channel as it earned
91.8 GRPs (10.88 TVR) to make Sony the third Hindi GEC for that week.
Says
Viacom 18 CCO and head international business Gaurav Gandhi, “Big ticket
movies always act as a differentiator to boost channel viewership while helping
audiences at that point in time to sample other properties. Thus, it broad bases
the typical GEC audience and draws in an entire family viewing.”
Elaborating
further, Star India EVP marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev says, “TV
channels now-a-days aim to show movies earlier, shortening the window gap, because
of the recency effect on the viewer's mind. And because it adds to the content
variety, it plays a strategic role in fulfilling consumer requirements.”
A complete change in the cost recovery model for movies has also accelerated
the eagerness of channels to showcase such products within a shorter window span.
Besides quoting huge satellite right prices for their movies, producers have found
other avenues like home video and DTH to exploit and monetise their products;
and the modes are available even if the movies have crashed or performed average
at the box-office.
“Since piracy is always at an all-time high, broadcasters
think ‘why wait’ and ‘why not’ make the movies available to
the audience as soon as they can!”, Gandhi adds.
 Consider
this: average box office performers such as All The Best, De Dana Dan and
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge along with the box office disaster Veer managed
to do favourably well on television with each grabbing an above 3 TVR.
All
The Best on Zee TV earned a 4.23 TVR during its premiere, fetching 25.2 GRPs
for the channel; De Dana Dan on Star Plus got 3.97 TVR and 26.9 GRPs; Atithi
Tum Kab Jaoge on Star Plus did 3.32 TVR and fetched 16.6 GRPs while Veer
got a 3.55 TVR to earn 23.1 GRPs for the same.
| Top
Bollywood Movies aired in GEC during 2010 in HSM Mkt | | Rank | Channel |
Programme | TVR% | GRPs | | 1. | Sony
Entertainment TV | 3
Idiots | 10.88 | 91.8 | | 2. | Colors | Ajab
Prem ki Ghazab kKahani | 7.45 | 50.5 | | 3. | Zee
TV | All
the Best | 4.23 | 25.2 | | 4. | Star
Plus | De
Dana Dan | 3.97 | 26.9 | | 5. | Star
Plus | Wanted
| 3.95 | 27.5 | | 6. | Star
Plus | Veer | 3.55 | 23.1 | | 7. | Star
Plus | Atithi
Tum Kab Jaoge | 3.32 | 16.6 | | 8. | Star
Plus | Paa
| 2.85 | 19.4 | | 9. | Colors | Do
Knot Disturb | 2.45 | 13.1 | | 10. | Zee
TV | Kambakkht
Ishq | 2.22 | 11.6 | | 11. | Colors | Toh
Baat Pakki | 2.2 | 9.4 | | 12. | Sony
Entertainment TV | Dil
Bole Hadippa | 2.14 | 15.5 | | 13. | Star
Plus | My
Name is Khan | 2.14 | 15.5 | | 14. | Colors | Kites
| 2.14 | 12.4 | | 15. | Colors | Whats
your Raashee | 1.37 | 10.5 |
| | Source:
TAM | TG: CS 4+ yrs | Period: Jan to July 2010 |
“TV provides free viewing even to flop films. So people who chose not to
pay high ticket prices at multiplexes for such movies will anyway watch the film
on TV thereby upping the viewership base,” says a top media planner on conditions
of anonymity.
 But
does this mean that movie premieres, especially the big tickets, always pull in
mass eyeballs? Not really. Industry players believe that the TV viewership success
of a movie is the functionality of its content and the rigorous promotion that
the channel performs. And therefore, a low marketing push for box office hits
like My Name Is Khan (Star Plus) and Wanted (Star Plus) on TV did
just average as they drew in 2.14 TVR and 3.95 TVR respectively.
| Top
Bollywood Movies aired in GEC during 2010 in All India Market | | Rank | Channel |
Programme | TVR% | GRPs | | 1. | Sony
Entertainment TV | 3
Idiots | 8.55 | 72.1 | | 2. | Colors | Ajab
Prem ki Ghazab kKahani | 5.59 | 37.6 | | 3. | Zee
TV | All
the Best | 3.16 | 18.9 | | 4. | Star
Plus | De
Dana Dan | 2.96 | 20.0 | | 5. | Star
Plus | Wanted
| 3.04 | 21.2 | | 6. | Star
Plus | Veer | 2.75 | 17.9 | | 7. | Star
Plus | Atithi
Tum Kab Jaoge | 2.5 | 12.5 | | 8. | Star
Plus | Paa
| 2.24 | 15.2 | | 9. | Colors | Do
Knot Disturb | 1.8 | 9.6 | | 10. | Zee
TV | Kambakkht
Ishq | 1.65 | 8.6 | | 11. | Colors | Toh
Baat Pakki | 1.63 | 7.0 | | 12. | Sony
Entertainment TV | Dil
Bole Hadippa | 1.68 | 12.2 | | 13. | Star
Plus | My
Name is Khan | 1.74 | 12.6 | | 14. | Colors | Kites
| 1.61 | 9.3 | | 15. | Colors | Whats
your Raashee | 1.05 | 8.0 |
| | Source:
TAM | TG: CS 4+ yrs | Period: Jan to July 2010 |
 3
Idiots, on the other hand, went through an aggressive marketing process. The
movie certainly grabbed a historical share of the viewership in the Hindi GEC
space but the push also came in from meticulous promotional initiatives. Sony
devised strategic promotional activity with the cast of the film and infused it
into the programming of the channel which helped in further driving up the viewership.
Also, interestingly, as part of the promos, Sony offered viewers the chance
to enter a competition to win one of the iconic chairs from the movie and the
response received was the highest ever from any movie competition on the channel.
Broadcasters affirm that, even though exorbitantly priced, movies can
recover the prices paid by them if the products are promoted rightly so as to
grab advertiser’s attention. This is because such premieres not only summon
a spike for the channel, but is surely a boon for the advertisers too who associate
with them. “When advertisers walk on board as sponsors, the deals include
multi-week promotional campaigns on the channel’s other properties –
fiction, non-fiction, events – exhibiting a visible sponsor label. Also,
due to expanded viewership from such premieres, the advertisers get more exposure,”
says Gandhi.
Adds Filmy business head Rajeev Chakrabarti , ”Big ticket
movies premiered on GEC channels are strategic programming spikes around which
channels attempt to garner viewer and advertiser’s attention. The networks
pay a very heavy price towards acquiring these titles and ultimately, the frequency
and viability of such big-ticket ‘premieres’ need to justify the cost-to-reward
ratio in line with the business objective.”
The window-gap between
a movie’s theatrical release and TV broadcast has also shortened because
the maximum collection that it garners is within the first two-three weeks at
the plexes.
Says a media planner, “Eight years back, about 200-300
prints of a movie were circulated and it took about six months to complete full
national coverage. But today with the advent of multiplexes, 500-1000 prints of
movies are released and it takes just two-three weeks for theatrical recovery.”
Talking about placements, Mediaedge:cia India MD T Gangadhar informs
that movies are strategically placed for weekend viewing because GECs are frail
on fiction during this part of the week.
Zee TV marketing head Akash
Chawla, however, believes that movies must be chosen on novelty factor and should
only act as new-audience-attracters rather than GRP boosters.
“The
primary challenge for a Hindi GEC is to maintain consistency and not become dependable
on movies. Putting up movies in the programming schedule to just get numbers without
encashing them to generate maximum revenues is not part of our strategy,”
he says. |
